The man who once fancied calling his opponent a flip-flopper is the true flip-flopper.  We have quite literally hundreds, if not thousands, of verifiable quotes where our monarch has used the phrase "Stay the Course."  Now of course, we have a complete reversal of this strategy as the white house attempts to simply win votes by lying.

At some point, someone, somewhere, must understand that what was initially pride or the appearance of holding "steadfast" now appears to be lunacy.  The president, white house and pentagon are without a strategy.  They have never defined exit criteria.  There were never solid goals for what defined success in Iraq.  In essence, the war has been from the get-go, a costly poorly-managed project that has, as its cost, not only billions of dollars but thousands upon thousands of lives.

Now we are "staying the course" without staying the course.  Quite a paradox.  In fact, I would say the president simply appears more unintelligent than usual.  In my daily walk of life, I see people - even conservatives - that are tired.  They are worn out by the rhetoric, they understand the difference between right and wrong and are faced with the growing realization that the nation has been lied to, put into debt and people have died for...apparently no definable goal.  What?  Saddam Hussein out of power?  He's gone.  Oil?  Well, clearly that's a long haul that didn't work out so well (and if you are one of those naive people that still believe oil was not a motive, then grab a cup of coffee and emerge from your somnambulatory state - all you have to do is read Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy or any number of other sources to see the truth).  Stabilization?  Aw, well now that we invaded illegally and for no reason, I suppose the US as a country should be held accountable to that one goal.  What does stabilization look like?  How do we define success there?  Number of body bags?  Infrastructure?  Oil/GDP?  Tourism?

See, that's the problem.  Nobody is defining it.  By definition not having definition is the weakest point of any project.  And the war is just that:  a vast, mismanaged project that never had scope or closure defined.

Stay the course, then.  Stay the course and let's elect a body of people that can define what it takes to get out.  The proof has been before us for quite some time and I think America is poised at the ballot box to make things happen.  Whatever flip-flopping Bush is working on to win votes I predict it will be a dismal failure.  It's lunacy without substance.

Time Article:  Stay the Course Time Article

Proof of Bush Lies - quotes about staying the course:  Examples of use of Stay the Course

Technorati Tags: iraq war, gulf war, saddam hussein, president bush, current affairs, current events, news and politics, stay the course, iraq strategy, american theocracy, iraq, bush, politics, war on terror, terrorism, bush administration, mid-term election, november election, 2006 election

Just a quick post today.  Some people are wondering what they can do to make this mid-term election in the US a big sweep for change (meaning, get as many authoritarian republicans out as possible).  They are worried that, as in past years, voting will have no impact.  Here are my thoughts:

1. First and foremost, vote!  If you vote and get everyone you know to vote, the margin of difference will be so large that there cannot be voter fraud.  You can play with .5 or 1%.  You can't play with a 3-10% difference between candidates or amendments.
2. Absentee ballots:  There is still time to order one and make sure that, in states like Colorado, you have a paper record of your ballot.
3. Join calling parties.  Try these websites.  One night you can show up and start calling progressives that don't often get out to vote
4. Give money.  Money works and helps build those commercials we all get sick of.  They do have an impact.

Here are some websites that can help with donations and joining election parties:  MoveOn, TrueMajority

More than anything - get out and vote!

Technorati Tags: absentee ballot, mid-term election, voting, current affairs, current events, news and politics, republicans, democrats, activism,election parties

And I mean it.  Now we see that Bush, Rove, Cheney and company are flip-floppers (curious after the accusations in the 2004 election against Kerry).  There are quite literally hundreds of excerpts where Bush has said the US will "Stay the course" in Iraq.  Now, due to public disapproval and the hope that they can pull this election out of the frying pan, the Republicans are flip-floppers saying that they've never said "stay the course."  I've provided many instances of how this administration lies to the public and others document it better than I do - just one more example of lies and misleading.  Anything to win a bit more power, a lot more money.

See the flip-flopping:  Bush flip flopping on Iraq

I think the public is ready to provide Democrats a chance to improve things in the country.  If they don't step up to the plate, I foresee an increase in popularity of Libertarian and other 3rd party candidates.  Should be an interesting year.

With accusations of voter fraud rampant from the last two elections (Florida and Ohio specifically), I recommend absentee ballots for those states not using paper.  You can vote early, avoid lines and make sure your vote is counted.

To succeed, here are the things Democrats must stick to if they are in power and the things that should guide concerned voters on Nov 7:

1. Stop motions and votes on frivolous topics such as flag burning and gay marriage amendments.  The vast majority of Americans don't want their tax money spent on this.
2. Make decreasing national debt a priority for this country.  It is the invisible dragon that looms over all our heads.  The improving stock market is deceptive but can't sustain itself if we don't pull back increasing debt (which ironically has burgeoned under the so-called 'conservative' regime).  China, Japan and other Asian countries fairly own the USA as its primary creditors.
3. Along with #2, work to keep real, manufacturing type jobs inside the USA.  The Walmart mentality of buying cheap Chinese products needs to be tapered back.  If Finance and Insurance are the primary money makers in the US and we no longer manufacture even our own clothes, computers or cars, how much are we really worth?
4. Ensure a strategy exists for how to handle both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Use Project Management, identify risks and put together a schedule.  It doesn't have to be public, but it does have to exist.  Otherwise there is no strategy and no plan and we'll continue to flounder until we simply have to pull out.
5. Keep religion out of government.  All religions or lack thereof should be allowed to flourish, but religious influence that has prospered under our current theocratic Republicans needs to stop.  It does not represent a huge section of this country and is inherently dangerous in its covert goals (which includes further integration of church and state).  Its bad for science, bad for schools and ultimately takes us away from the important issues of economy and world affairs.
6. Hold the country accountable to a high standard of ethics including:  a)  tailoring back lobbyist influence, b) stopping torture by all sections of the US Government, c) dissolve secret prisons in other countries (that often support terrorism anyhow)
7. Treat terrorism as the crime it is.  Use smart surveillance, crime fighting strategies and stop thinking in terms of invasion and costly war that only increases terrorism (such as Iraq) and bad will towards the US.
8. Stop the tax breaks for the upper crust.  Those who make more money than 95% of other Americans can afford to pay taxes.  Plain and simple.  There's some trickle down economics for ya.

I have high hopes that there will be some change.  We need to hold this rogue president and his incestuous, inept staff accountable for the crimes they have commited and the situation they have placed us in.

I call it the Dobson-Falwell-Roberston Effect (or DFR for short).  The dumbification of American by the religious right.  Now, somebody is going to come along, read this, and think that I'm a Christian hater.  Wrong.  Far from it.  I have a great deal of respect for all religions.  The problem only comes into play when religion doesn't respect my right to worship.  It's interesting that at work or in certain religious circles some enterprising (dare we say "brave") person asks me "Are you religious?"  I'm never really sure how to respond.  In the United States when someone asks this it almost always should be translated into, "Are you a fundamentalist Christian?"  The word fundamentalist of course can mean varied things, but normally includes:  inerrancy of the bible (or what you interpret as the bible), so-called "traditional values" (like hating homosexuals and abstinence-only sex education - an oxymoron to be sure) and not listening to other viewpoints.

The DFR Effect is making a solid 25-30 percent of our country just plain dumb.  People are listening to these authoritarian christians who shout from the pulpit.  People, they are only interested in 2 things:  money and power.  I don't recall those being Jesus' messages in the New Testament.  Anyhow, these leaders of the DFR Effect use hate and fear and a very rigid interpretation of the Christian Bible to maintain an iron grip on their followers.  Fear of hell.  Fear of the devil.  Fear of homosexuals.  Fear of those who might not share their beliefs.

The irony is that the DFR authoritarians claim some sort of moral supremacy via the bible.  However, when it comes right down to it they can't seem to separate themselves in the name of true morality.  They've become married to politics and right-wing politics to them.  Witness Dobson's inability to condemn Foley and the Republican mishaps with reporting his escapades.  Instead, Dobson claims it is an evil liberal ploy to win elections, tries to deflect to Bill Clinton and various other ploys.  I won't re-blog what others have said but you can read it here:  James Dobson's Inability to be Moral

Pat Robertson is another great one.  He calls for assassinations on world leaders, vilifies gay people and leads the push to integrate (instead of separate) church and state.  Yet somehow he is moral and "pro-life."  Separation of church and state is important, people.  The DFR guys want their followers to believe that this is not in our constitution.  They are wrong.  They feel that somehow Christian values can govern a nation and make it prosper.  Again, they are wrong.  Do we really want another Iran?  A 16th century Spain?  This is exactly what they want.  Our schools become less competitive and graduates less educated.  Yet they continue to press pseudo-science like Intelligent Design.  They continue to press "abstinence only" programs for so-called sex education - and teens continue to have little education.  We have become the laughing stock of the world and a puzzlement for European nations.  They really don't get the US religious environment.

Their desire to integrate Christianity with the government:  Theocracy Watch

I see a time, especially as we continue to cut funding for research and development, where the US can no longer compete with other nations.  Religion is cheapened by the influence of politics and cannot maintain a high ground.  Society and politics are weakened when religion has too much influence, affecting scientific research, educating our young people and the country's ability to be competitive.  It encourages people to not use their brains and, instead, simply follow what they're told.  This is dangerous.  I'll vote against anyone who is tied to religion and let's it influence their politics.

In a time when our president continues to prove his ineptitude and gets ever more vocal about his ties to religion, this is very, very important.

I feel a great deal of anger concerning a certain element within the American Christian Fundamentalist movement.  At one time I counted myself in their number, or at least at the fringe of it.  Gradually I found my own way and decided that the Christian religion was not for me.  The anger I suppose comes from an innate desire to let everyone practice religion as they see fit - this includes those who consider themselves Christian fundamentalists - and the growing realization that this religion does not respect my right to believe.

The problem with this of course is that any radical right-wing sect (including Christians, Muslims and Jews) do not return the same respect.  They believe themselves to be the 'chosen' (which contains an inherent fallacy, because if thousands of different sects and religions around the world believe themselves to the be the one 'chosen' brand then by definition everyone else is wrong which is of course impossible).  And, at least with the radical wing of Christianity, they spend a lot more time worrying about a fantastical rapture and Armageddon than they do about the present and fixing problems that occur in the 'here and now.'  Fear tends to run the religion and make sure worshippers stick to it - fear of the future without god, fear of the devil/hell and, especially, fear of those who do not believe the same as they do.

I consider myself a spiritual person but in most ways I am an atheist.  So, when I hear religious leaders in the USA speak about how separation of church and state is not guaranteed or that it's damaging to the country I of course cringe.  Separation of Church and State is very much a part of the constitution of the USA.  The words are very clear (see Constitution of the USA Online).  It has already been eroded under the government of George W Bush.  He has appointed born-again Christians that want to remove this separation such as John Ashcroft.  He himself does not believe in it.  How about the recent creation of the Faith-based Initiative office?  Clearly a violation.  And, also, John Ashcroft's virtuous attempt to protect abortion-clinic bombers (see Ashcroft protecting abortion clinic bombers).  These people are terrorists and should be prosecuted as such.  Intelligent-design?  It's faith, not science, and should remain in the church.

Atheism is not evil:  Facts About Atheism

How little difference remains between the radical Islamic terrorists who want to see non-believers die and the Christian right that wants to control a theocratic USA government and impose Christian beliefs on others (which history shows us usually results in rounding up non-believers and expelling or killing them)?  They are one and the same and Americans should be genuinely frightened of them.  Pat Robertson is one of their champions.  In Robertson's Pro-Life Culture of Death, assassinating leaders of sovereign nations is just fine but, by god, we need to protect stem-cell petrie dishes and spilled sperm.  Send criminals and homosexuals to the death chamber but outlaw abortion.  Want to see some examples of the 'loving' Pat Robertson?

Robertson calls for Assassination

Examples of Robertson's Agenda and His Quotes

We need to protect the USA Constitution which was designed to allow freedom of and from religion.  There is no other way to protect the rights of a varied and mixed religious culture such as our own.  Other countries in the world are stunned at how the USA allows religious policy to influence national agendas and relief work - it erodes any respect that is left for us.  I highly recommend Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy for detailed examples.  But, for example, the ridiculous policy and notion that abstinence is good AIDS-reduction policy rather than sex education which includes all options or the USA's pull out of funding for any program that provides condoms to help reduce AIDS in the 3rd world.

We're quickly reaching a point of no-return concerning religion and state in the USA.  I love this country but it's becoming a place I can't abide by nor understand.  We need to abolish institutions like the Faith Based Initiatives office, keep religion from public schools, stop the nonsense about not teaching evidence-based science such as evolution while promoting pseudo-religion such as intelligent design.

I'm angry, but I'm trying to be reasonable and still respect the religion of others.  I just wish they'd do the same.  I have faith.  Faith that we can still all live together without telling each other how to believe.

It cracks me up that Republicans are responding to bad news concerning their party by responding, "It's politics," implying that it is a democrat conspiracy to release bad publicity right before the election.  My response?  So what!?  What better time is there for people to understand truly what their elected officials are up to so that they can make informed decisions in the election instead of listening to endless spin and rhetoric about patriotism and insipid advice to 'stay the course.'

Some examples:

Iraqi death toll:  Over 650,000 Dead in Iraq

State of Denial by Woodward:  Woodward Book

Foley Page Scandal:  Foley Scandal

Stories like this contain truth and should make Americans think about how and who they vote for.  How do these politicians stand up under scrutiny?  Many of these Republicans claim to be be 'moral' or promote 'family values' and also claim to be 'born-again Christians.'  I can say with much confidence that the above stories demonstrate their double-speak and inability to follow any moral path.  They are only concerned with maintaining a 1-party power, making money and getting re-elected.  That's it.

All I'm saying is that these issues, like all others, help create an accurate analysis and should guide voters.  What better time would there be?

A mix of stuff that I wanted to share today.  First, two websites that test where individuals fall on a political/social spectrum (libertarian, liberal, communitarian, conservative, etc.).  Here are my scores:

To test yourself, try

Self-Government Test,

Idealog Political Test

My other piece for this post is a great site where you can fact-check Ann Coulter among other things and truly understood how whacky and unfactual her books and footnotes are.  Great stuff.  See:  Fact-Checking Ann Coulter @ What-Liberal-Media

With the authoritarian government scaring most in the media (by smearing or getting them fired if they report the truth or criticism) we are left with Keith Olberman who holds back no punches. The guy is speaking truth.  See his recent commentary about lying which is quite revealing and to the point.  I think it speaks for a lot of us that feel disgust and have a hard time vocalizing it.

Keith Olbermann Special Commentary About Lying

Technorati Tags: keith olbermann, george bush, lying, media, liberal, conservative

Hey, two of my favorite people.  Click on the link and view each of the 2 parts to the 'interview' with Colbert.

Stephen Colbert Interviews Amy Goodman

I'm convinced so.  It isn't often that you hear the word 'sin' in an Unitarian Universalist church (where my family goes), but you do hear a lot about social responsibility, respect for others, etc.  However, if you read this sermon you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about.  Fundamentalism should be the most basic sin that Christians, Muslims and others stay vigilant about.  Yet the movements continue to grow.

My church:  Jefferson Unitarian Church

The Sin of Fundamentalism Sermon:  Sermon - Sin of Fundamentalism

Technorati Tags: unitarian, universalism, fundamentalism, fundamentalist, christian, muslim, islam, sin, religion, social responsibility

I can't stand these people.  They cannot, under a circumstance, imagine a world where their religion does not play into the lives of others.

See this article:  Ignorant Fundamentalist Banning Books

So this mommy thinks that Harry Potter promotes and teaches witchcraft?  Where have I seen this before?  Oh, yeah, in the Dungeons and Dragons scare of the mid 1980s  Stackpole refutes D&D craze by Christians.  Or how about the pastor in my childhood saying that the Force in Star Wars was an usurpation of God?  Another hype-induced, factless diatribe by the religious right.  Let's face the music:  books, music, games, guns and tv do not cause people to do anything - amoral and ignorant outlooks on the world do (which I could argue often arise as part of fundamentalist religion).  This woman probably knows nothing about what "true" witchcraft really is (if such a thing exists), has probably never read the Harry Potter books and, likely, is simply pushing what her church tells her to do (like a good authoritarian follower).

This stuff really gets my blood boiling.  A message to all fundamentalists:  1)  Watch your own repressed feelings towards sex and having fun, 2) Realize that not everybody in the world follows even remotely your view of Christianity, witchcraft or anything else.  You don't have power over the entire world or what libraries contain within them, 3)  A fictional book is just that - fiction.  Thinking that it is instructional in anything pseudo-religious is plain insanity.

I've never gotten into the Harry Potter books, but I defend books in general and this whole movement is ludicrous.  The movies are fun and you should go watch them.  If you're really interested in true 'witchcraft,' 'wicca' etc. (which harry potter is not, that's why the genre is called 'fantasy') then look up stuff about those subjects.  For goddess' sake...

Technorati Tags: harry potter, fantasy, book banning, censorship, fundamentalist, evangelicals, christians, georgia, library, books, witchcraft, wicca

The authoritarian government controlling both houses of congress as well as the presidency has proven that it has no problems lying and covering up the truth.  In fact, as we have recently seen they are so concerned with keeping a one-party majority that they will cover up and hide known pedophiles within their ranks.  Disgusting.  Ex Rep. Foley is a sexual predator and Haster and others within the house have known this since 2001.  2001!!!  Unbelievable.  Yet they continued to hide it in order to maintain the majority advantage.

Link to transcripts of his emails/IMs with underage boys:  Foley's IM transcripts

House Speaker Dennis Haster should resign.  Time to clean house and get people in there that have some semblance of morals and ethics.  Instead we currently have a majority who, either silently or proactively, promotes pedophilia, torture, dictatorship within the House and monarchy by the executive branch.

Technorati Tags: pedophile, foley, house of representatives, haster, email transcripts, scandal

I'm in amazement that Congress would pass the so-called "Detainee" bill with flying colors.  Truly, we have entered a new era in the history of the United States.  It would appear that the only course of action is a legal one and, with all the federal courts packed with authoritarian Bushite followers, I'm not sure the chances of overturning this are that great.  I’ll give my money to the right causes hoping this happens but I’m not holding my breath.

A good article appears in the Washington Post about the passage of the bill on 9/29/06:

Washington Post Article - Detainee Bill

To really understand this, read the bill itself: Detainee Bill Text

Among many things this new bill allows:

- suspension of habeas corpus Meaning of Habeas Corpus

- allowing the executive branch to define what is and what is not torture (something President Bush and his lackeys have already proven they cannot accurately do)

- absolving those in the Bush administration from prior breaks in the law, such as breaking the Geneva Convention (torture, unlawful detention, etc.)

- Destroys Constitutional Amendment 14 Amendment 14 to the Constitution

Per the ACLU, this bill "removes important checks on the president by: failing to protect due process, eliminating habeas corpus for many detainees, undermining enforcement of the Geneva Conventions, and giving a "get out of jail free card" to senior officials who authorized or ordered illegal torture and abuse." According to Christopher Anders, an ACLU Legislative Counsel, "nothing could be less American than a government that can indefinitely hold people in secret torture cells, take away their protections against horrific and cruel abuse, put them on trial based on evidence that they cannot see, sentence them to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and then slam shut the courthouse door for any habeas petition, but that’s exactly what Congress just approved."

Many Democrats joined ranks with Republicans in passing the bill in part, I believe, because they don’t want to be perceived as “being soft” right before election time (a sick irony that voting with one’s conscience and acting to uphold the Constitution might be seen as “soft” by the public, but the brainwashing by the authoritarians is truly effective). Yet in doing so, they’ve sold out the values of our country to an authoritarian regime and joined ranks in something that I, and others, want no part of.

I am greatly puzzled how anyone could allow this to happen. This transcends Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative. It goes to the very heart of the question: What constitutes the United State of America? Reading John Dean’s book Conservatives Without a Conscience provides some enlightenment despite my overall confusion.

It comes down to this. We increasingly have a government led by people that lack a moral compass and who will do anything to win. Those in power, the Social Dominators (as Dean would describe them), are really only out for their personal self-gain and the aggrandizement of beliefs that fit into their own world view. Everyone around them is a tool, a pawn, to be used towards this end goal. So, if the end goal is to have a one-party government in all three branches then they pursue that goal relentlessly, even if it involves: cheating, lying, using religion as a means to an end, murder, torture, repression of peoples they deem unworthy, etc.

And to top this off, we have the authoritarian followers. Those rank-and-file authoritarians who don’t listen to ideas different than their own, who see questions to their belief system as an enemy to be knocked down and who actively seek leaders (the Social Dominators) that regurgitate back to them exactly what they want to hear. So, if the President tells them that torture is “good for national security” they buy it. They may describe themselves as evangelical Christians with ethics/morals yet they support clearly immoral acts in the name of supporting authority. A paradox, yes. It is also something they can’t dwell on for long without getting defensive. Logic does not seem to prevail against these people most of the time. There is no logic involved. It is simply following the authority that tells them what they want to hear. Fear-based and irrational.

So, these dangerous ideas are now law. I can almost watch the Constitution slide into the mud day-by-day. It is not the first time a President has overreached his authority, but this particular one has done it frequently, flagrantly and in spite of the other two branches of government. The authoritarians cow and punish those who dissent so we’re left with very few Republicans that voice their own conscience. Thus is the legacy of Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay – fear.

There was a time when I would carefully analyze candidates – Republican, Democrat or otherwise – in order to assure that I picked the right one. I think that time is over as we enter a time when it is simply important to pick candidates not associated with the authoritarian right. Being conservative does not have to mean being authoritarian. Conservative can mean good things – fiscal responsibility, proceeding with changes cautiously, etc. But those who identify with the conservative movement today do not hold to the ideas of the conservatives even 30 years ago. It would be nice to see that change.

Technorati Tags: detainee, habeas corpus, amendment 14, constitution, detainee bill, conservatives, john dean, authoritarian, delay, gingrich